Agents report that the Christmas slowdown has come early this year, as both would-be buyers and sellers are adopting a ‘wait and see’ policy until the direction of next year’s housing market becomes apparent.

The combination of high unsold stocks, the mortgage famine, a shaky economy and the normal winter slowdown gives an ideal scenario for bargain-hunting buyers.

The bleak mid-winter is always the best time to catch desperate sellers, and those buyers who are currently lying in wait may wish to pounce this winter rather than next.